<p>25,000 miles on United will get you Premier Silver, which gives you Economy Plus choice at checkin. It takes 50,000 miles for Premier Gold to get Economy Plus choice at booking.</p>
<p>Yes, it was worthwhile for me to get confirmed economy plus seats when we booked our flights to go on the trip with my folks. They are in their 80s and it was a long flight for all of us. I wanted everyone as comfortable as possible. I did let everyone chip in the amount they would have had to pay to upgrade their seat for the first leg of the trip and H & I paid the balance. It was a splurge, but one that seemed worthwhile for me and for our folks.</p>
<p>Sigh. I wish Southwest would fly to Hawaii, or Hawaiian to Denver. We’re flying United in a few days - first time in years - so I’ll let you all know how it goes. Fortunately DS just showed me his pile of clothes for school and I don’t even think he’ll need a check bag! We’re going to be doing a lot of shopping when we get there, as he seems to have had another growth spurt. That’ll save us a bunch of fees. Now if I can just avoid buying too much for me in Denver… </p>
<p>Assuming you’re booking online with United, there is a tab that you open up to do your seat selection. It’s easy to miss if you don’t look for it. Or, as GMT notes, just go online a few days later and you should be able to select your seats. It just doesn’t always happen at actual booking time. I’ve just redeemed UA miles for daughter BOS-ORD at Thanksgiving and Christmas and got her seat assignments. </p>
<p>Maybe I’m oblivious, but I haven’t experienced UA as being surly. Frankly I don’t want the FAs trying to be my new BFF. Just do your announcements and support the pilot in getting to the destination on time! </p>
<p>We flew United last October. I have to agree with others who talked about surly, grumpy flight attendants. That really stuck out on our outbound trip. They don’t have to gush over us, but a smile, a welcome and not treating the passengers like we are a burden to them would be nice. Coming home was a different crew of course, and they were better. I had no problem choosing my seats at the time of booking.</p>
<p>Jet Blue would be my airline of choice if they are flying where we need to go, but their rates are often much higher than others.</p>
<p>We mostly fly United, although in the last few years I’ve flown Delta, USAir, Jet Blue, and American. I’ve had good flights and bad flights on all of them – I think my worst experience was on JetBlue followed by Delta. I’ve never had problems getting a seat assignment on United.</p>
<p>The only time I couldn’t get a seat assignment was on an international flight on American. I called the airline and was told that because I was flying on the cheapest ticket, I couldn’t get a seat until 24 hours ahead of time. I went online the moment I could, and there were 5 seats left, all middle, for a 12-hour flight. I was not happy. Thank god for Ambien. </p>
<p>EPTR…Unfortunately, Delta is the only carrier that even offers non-stop service between the airports we’re wanting to use. It’s a roll of the dice no matter how we try to set up the travel…it’s Christmas in the North so you’ve got the biggest crowds and the worst weather. We accept the necessary evil for the small chance that it might work out and she’ll actually get the non-stop we’ve paid for.</p>
<p>It’s not like I’m surprised by any of the crap that the airlines pull. I’m a charter air pilot, and while most of our passengers are people with the wherewithal to afford chartering a private jet we occasionally get some “regular income” folks who are just sick and tired of dealing with commercial airline travel. I travel fairly frequently on nearly all the commercial carriers past and present (AA, UA, Delta, US AIrways, Northwest, Southwest) and I’ve seen the same garbage from ALL of them. If I’m sitting at a gate and there’s less than half a plane’s worth of people, I just expect the “maintenance issue” that will cancel our flight and roll everybody to the partially full flights later in the day.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate, but most people (including myself) have no options. You’re at the mercy of a service industry that doesn’t value customer service anywhere near the top of their “to do” list…or anywhere near where they used to. L-) </p>
<p>Op,
Thanks for the heads up about Delta. Was looking at thanksgiving fares and Delta had the lowest non stop fares across the country. But based on your experiences, I am choosing another carrier. </p>
<p>S just flew Delta. He arrived at MSP and found his duffel had a large rip. It was clear this was not luggage failure but rather that it had been dragged across something sharp. Basically, something sliced the suitcase. Delta gave him a loaner and fixed the original bag. Fixed bag arrived at our home 2 weeks later. That was a good experience. On the other hand, his return flight layover was rescheduled from 2 to 3 hours. Curfew at the arrival airport is 11:30 pm , flight was scheduled for 11:23 pm. They did have a slight delay at takeoff but made the curfew. Seems rather risky to me. </p>
<p>Just booked United using mileage points. We were able to select seats on the website.</p>
<p>We use Southwest whenever possible. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but they seem to offer slightly more leg room. You can change tickets without a penalty/fee, no charge for the first 2 bags, and I’ve found their personnel to be friendly and outgoing.</p>
<p>I don’t know if an airline would purposefully do the bait and switch. I’d think it’s more likely incompetence on the planning folks part. Given a choice between airlines being devious or incompetent, I’d pick the latter. Though that wouldn’t make me feel better if they kept doing that to me.</p>
<p>I really recommend anyone that is going to travel a lot to get frequent flier status. Pick the airline that works the best for you, and use it as much as you can. Get their credit card, where you can rack up a bunch of elite qualifying miles. The difference in your options and how you’re treated is immense. I almost never have a problem with Delta. I fly them all the time, usually get upgraded, the flight attendants know my ff status because they are given a list of each flight. You can call a medallion line if there are problems with your connections, and they will bend over backwards, even booking you on other airlines. It is worth the effort. I’m sure other airlines are the same way.</p>
<p>I guess a side benefit of having medical issues and needing to work with the disabilities desk of every airlines since 2008 is that they tend NOT to give me a tough time about getting seats and also if they cancel my flight will put me on another one that is as close as possible to the one that was cancelled. The other “benefit” is that I am allowed to pre-board with H, so we can get situated and put our medical supplies out of the way before the masses enter the airplane. In the decades I’ve flown, I have to admit I have been fortunate. We generally get all of our luggage within 24 hours of landing at our destination–when it’s late they deliver it to us.</p>
<p>Have not had much luggage damaged, and when the pieces are old, we’re ready to get rid of them and get new pieces anyway. Considering we fly quite a bit, we really are mostly pretty happy with airlines, as that is the ONLY way to get from our island state to pretty much anywhere. It sure is a lot faster than any cruise ships from HI to anywhere.</p>
<p>Detroit, Minneapolis and Atlanta are the hubs for Delta and if you’re not in one of those three places, chances are you’ll go there, whether it makes sense or not. Flying to or from Detroit, the best price is almost always Delta (or Spirit). I’ve not had the non-stop bait and switch experience with them, but then again, I’m always booking flights in and out of Detroit. They are still infinitely better than Sprint though. </p>
<p>When you cannot choose a seat online (for Delta or United anyway), it is because they are close to full. I try to pick a different flight when this happens. When I used to travel for work, that was not always possible so I would make sure I logged in to check in as soon as it was open to (24 hours before the flight) and there were seats to pick then. Each time I had to do that, they were begging for volunteers to take a different flight and I was very relieved I’d gotten my seat. </p>
<p>As the airlines dwindle down in number, the customer service just gets worse and worse. </p>
<p>I’ve had the United no seat situation also. I was able to click on the select a seat tab, but the the only seats that came up as available were premium $ seats. No thanks! This has happened more than once and somehow standard seats always magically appear at check-in. :-? </p>
<p>On the rare occasion when I am unable to get an assigned seat when I book…or otherwise…I show up at the airport plenty early. I’d rather sit around the airport a bit than get bumped off the flight because everyone else got a seat before me.</p>
<p>But then… I prefer to arrive about 2 hours prior to my departures anyway.</p>
<p>When I have problems with United, I call their web technical support folks and explain that due to some glitch in THEIR computers, it isn’t allowing me to book a seat and they will help me get a seat. They are very nice and helpful and you don’t have to pay extra talking with them.</p>
<p>Have also spoken with them when the United certificate doesn’t allow me to book the itinerary I want–they give me a special code. They have been more helpful to me than the regular United reservations folks and don’t charge a fee for talking with you. Shhh, don’t tell or we may start being threatened with fees for talking with them too!</p>
<p>I’ve tried booking seats online with USAir when it only showed premium seats available. They only give you the middle seats for free if you book ahead. If you wait, and choose a seat after checking in 24 hours before your flight, suddenly those window and aisle seats are available unless someone already paid extra for them. If it’s not a peak travel time, it pays to wait. </p>
<p>And with Southwest, I tried paying for early bird check in, only to find that you don’t get your boarding pass earlier, THEY check you in early in some mysterious process. I called them to find out and was told that an unlimited number of early bird check-in spots can be sold, which explained why I ended up back in the B group even though I paid extra. The only guaranteed early spots are the business preferred people who only get A1 - 15. And the disabled people who board first. And the people, still on the plane, who are connecting somewhere else. Unless it’s a really long flight, don’t sweat it! Airlines seem programmed to make us anxious about travel. </p>
Resurrecting an old thread. Delta did it again! This time to a family member. Roughly one week after the non-refundable reservation was made, they informed them that their non-stop flight will now be a connecting one. Exact same scenario. Last time, when they did it to me, I complained loudly, and only after multiple attempts did they agree to give some minor miles. But the timing and the same scenario this time makes it seem it is no longer a coincidence but rather part of their planning technique. I’ve heard if some complaints go viral on social media, a company will finally react. How is that done?